Former two-division UFC champion Jon Jones’ fighting days are coming to an end and may have already ended. Widely considered the greatest of all time, the curtains are closing on his legendary career.
Jones announced his retirement late last June. Two weeks later, after the UFC White House event was announced, he came out of retirement and rejoined the UFC anti-doping testing pool in hopes of competing on the historic fight card. It was recently revealed that Jones needs a hip replacement due to arthritis after a lifetime of combat sports, but he’s still willing to fight at the White House. Outside of that opportunity, we’ve likely seen the last of ‘Bones’ inside the octagon.
“Expect Jon Jones to continue to grow as a human being (this year). Except my best, just the way that I give back to others and try to impact these younger fighters. I think my best self is on its way and that’s a person without fighting. And I’m excited to meet this guy, to forge this guy,” Jones told Helen Yee Sports.
“I think I could be done,” continued Jones. “I’m young enough to compete with some of the best fighters in the world. I am healthy enough to compete with some of the best fighters in the world, but I’ve always been used to competing with the best in the world. So, I don’t know. It’s a really high standard to uphold. So maybe it’s just about, you know, doing it right and getting out at a really good time.
“I don’t want to be one of these fighters that win some and lose some and can’t remember what your name is. I met a fighter a few years ago, he didn’t know what his birthday was and that’s a lot of fighting. I’m far from that, and I don’t even want to know what that looks like.”
